Jealousy
by Jaded Cabbit
Summary: Okay, changing summary... Mara suddenly becomes jealous when she loses everyone's attention; especially Luke's. Want more? Then read it! =-)


Note: I'm not writing this for money, so please don't sue me. If you'd like to e-mail a comment, please do so to JadeSkywalker84@aol.com. Please, don't flame me… I'm not trying to upset anyone. Also, as standard procedure, all the characters in this story and the Star Wars universe do not belong to me (Except Sasha and Keira), and I'm not claiming them as my own. So again, please don't sue me. Thanks a lot, and enjoy the story.  
  
  
Jealousy  
By: Jaded Cabbit  
  
Mara Jade looked into the mirror and smiled. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her new backless green dress. The silk straps wound around the back of her neck, leaving her entire back open. She took her hair and piled it on top of her head, keeping it in place with an entire package of bobby pins. She turned slowly around, admiring her reflection. Luke would be pleased. Smiling again, she walked over to her bed and kneeled on the floor, then picked up the bedskirt and looked for a certain box. Finding it, she called it to herself with the Force, then got up and sat on the side of the bed. She opened the box and pulled out a pair of strappy green high-heels that perfectly matched her dress. Deftly she slipped them on, then she grabbed a small green purse in which she put her lightsaber and the rest of her "essentials". Five minutes later she was out the door.  
  
Just as she was getting off the turbolift and walking into the lobby, Mara ran smack-dab into someone. She was pushed backwards, and tripping over her heels, she fell on her butt. She was cursing under her breath when a shadow loomed over her. She looked up only to find that she couldn't distinguish who it was. A hand appeared inches from her face.  
  
"Need some help, my lady?" Oh gods, she had run into…  
  
"Lando?!"" Mara ignored his helping hand and stood up, brushing the invisible specks of dirt off her dress. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Why, I'm here to pick up my date." He looked her over then winked. "And doesn't she look stunning tonight?" Lando wrapped his right arm around Mara's slender waist. She pushed him away and walked towards the front door of the hotel she was staying at on Courscant.  
  
"I am not your date, Calrissian. So back off."  
  
"Suit yourself my precious." Mara stormed out the double front doors and began walking the few blocks to the New Republic's office building, where Senator Leia Organa-Solo was hosting a party. She had only taken a few steps outside when it began to rain.   
  
'Sith!' Mara swore at the sky and ran back inside the hotel where Lando was still standing, watching her. He gave her his best grin (which just happened to be his cockiest also) and strolled over to her.   
  
"Getting wet kitten? Well, you should've watched the weather report today. Here, let me escort you to the senator's party." Lando whipped out an umbrella.  
  
"No thanks Calrissian. And for the hundredth time, I am not a kitten." She glared at him.  
  
"Well, how are you going to make it to the NR building without getting wet? I know for a fact that you have never owned an umbrella." Mara was momentarily stumped. She really didn't want to get wet, but she absolutely abhorred the idea of being seen (or being anywhere near) Lando.   
  
'Think Mara, think. What could you use to keep yourself dry… ah-ha!' How could she be so dense… she can use the Force! 'I always knew it had to be good for something.' Mara headed for the doors again.  
  
"Hey, Mara my pet… where are you going?" Lando began to panic. He had a surefire plan to get Mara to be his date, and she would rather get soaking wet then walk under an umbrella with him? Mara walked outside, and using the Force, created a bubble around herself. Dry and very happy to be rid of Lando, she walked on towards the New Republic building, the raindrops bouncing off her forcefield. Lando watched as Mara walked down the street, and quickly opening his umbrella, ran down the street after her.  
  
After a short walk Mara reached the NR building. Stepping under an overhang above the main entrance, she dissolved her protective bubble and took a minute to breathe in the fresh air. How she had always loved the smell of rain. She was just about to walk in the doors when she heard something a lot like vinyl rubbing together. She turned around and Lando ran up to her. Before she could get away he had grabbed her arm and dragged her into the main lobby. They were met by four guards.  
  
"May I see your invitations, please?"  
  
"Sure you can, buddy." Lando answer back. He grabbed his out of a pants pocket, then turning to Mara, dug through her purse and found hers. Mara stood there dumbstruck as Lando handed the first guard their invites. "Here you are, gentlemen." The guard carefully looked over the two invitations, and convinced they were genuine, handed them back to Mara and Lando.  
  
"Welcome Mr. Calrissian, Miss Jade. Enjoy your night together." Lando dragged Mara off, uttering a small "thanks" to the guards and waving with his free hand.  
  
When they got into the turbolift and the doors had safely closed, Mara shoved Lando against the wall.  
  
"How dare you do that to me, Calrissian!"  
  
"Take it easy, Mara sweetheart. I just wanted you to be my date, that's all." That's all?! How could he possibly be so dense?  
  
"Take it easy, huh? Let's see you take it easy after I…" Just then the doors opened up into a room filled with people and aliens from around the galaxy. Lando grabbed Mara's arm before she could protest and was off again, weaving through the crowd. He pulled her over to the dance floor and was about to attempt to dance when Leia saw them.  
  
"Oh, Lando… how nice to see you. Thank you for coming." Mara zoned out as Leia and Lando began discussing Han and how he was doing and such. Like Mara really cared about this stupid party. She was here to find Luke, whom she hadn't seen in over a month. Suddenly something Leia said reached her ears, and she focused her attention again. "… and I see you brought Mara as your date. Finally someone who could tame the wild Mara." Mara stood silent, fuming as the other two began to laugh about it. Date? The stupid twit thought she was Lando's date?  
  
"Thank you again, senator. We'll talk to you later." Lando steered Mara away from Leia before she could blurt out that she wasn't Lando's date. He was taking her to the drink table when she finally spotted Luke across the room. Unlike the other guests, who were wearing suits (if anything), Leia had made sure that he was dressed in his Jedi blacks. 'At least he's not wearing that damnable cloak which hides his beautiful face and arms and legs and…' Luke was cut out of her vision as Lando kept moving her towards the alcohol. Time to do something.  
  
"Hey Calrissian, let go. My arm's numb." Mara yanked her arm away, and Lando finally focused his attention back on her. She just turned her back and started walking in the opposite direction.  
  
"Where are you going, dear?"  
  
"To the 'fresher. Nature calls." Mara gave him a sickly sweet smile and walked towards the other side of the room, uttering some "hellos" here and a few "it's been a whiles" there. Finally when she was in front of the 'freshers, she contacted Luke.  
  
*Hey farmboy- looking hot.*  
  
*Mmm, MJ, my favorite red-head.*  
  
*I'd better be… how about a little "personal" time?* Luke caressed her cheek with the Force.  
  
*Meet me by the 'freshers in a couple of minutes.* Mara returned Luke's caress with a Force-grab to his crotch. She could hear him moan.  
  
*I'm already there.* A minute later Luke appeared.   
  
"Hello Jade, you look lovely tonight." Since there were people watching, Mara pretended to be her "fiery" self.  
  
"Are you hitting on me, Skywalker? You'd better not be…"  
  
"Don't worry Jade, I'm not." *I already have you, don't I?*  
  
"Okay, you'd better watch yourself." *Probably more than you can handle, farmboy.* Just as they were about to leave the party for a short time, a very short round man came up to them.  
  
"Are you Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi Master?" Luke and Mara exchanged glances. Luke cleared his throat.   
  
"Yes, that would be me sir. Can I help you?"   
  
"Yes, you can actually. A couple of my friends would like to have a small chat with you and your life being a Jedi." This happened at every one of Leia's parties, but he had an obligation to be nice.  
  
"Oh, yes, of course. I'll be there in a minute." The little man nodded, then walked back over to a table full of men and their dates.  
  
"Luke!!!!!" Mara hissed at him. Why, why now of all times, when they haven't been together in seven weeks…  
  
"Mara, I'm really sorry, you know I am. I just have these… obligations." She glared at him, unmoved by his short explanation. "We'll get together later, I promise. Meet me at my hotel room, at 22:30. Okay?" Mara gave in; she smiled, then playfully punched him in the arm.   
  
*Later farmboy.* Mara wandered off into the crowd. At least Lando hadn't spotted her yet. She was just moseying around when she heard a female voice behind her.  
  
"Great Stars, Mara, is that you?" She pivoted on her three-inch heel to see who it was. The surprise hit her instantly.  
  
"Gods, Sasha, is that you?" Mara ran over to the blonde, gray-eyed woman and hugged her fiercely.   
  
"Mara Jade… it's been forever! How've you been?"  
  
"Great, just great! And how about you?" Could this really be her?  
  
"Well, you know me. Of course I'm fine. Aren't I always? I mean, with all those guys clinging to me…" Yep, it was her all right. No other person Mara knew was so egotistical. Except…  
  
"Hello again, my dear. I brought you some wine. Ooh, and who is this fine lady?" Lando reappeared, holding two wineglasses in his left hand. He took Sasha's hand in his right and bowing slightly, kissed it.  
  
"Well, Mara, is this your guy? He's very charming."   
  
"Charming my ass." she muttered.  
  
"What was that? I didn't quite catch it."  
  
"I said yes, he is." Mara gave her a fake smile and turned to Lando. For the first time in her life, she noticed that Lando was actually not paying attention to her. He was too busy drooling over Sasha. 'What is going on here? Calrissian's not hanging all over me. How strange." She turned back towards her good friend.  
  
"So, Sasha, what have…" Mara trailed out as she saw that Sasha was actually listening to Lando's "I'm-so-great" stories and laughing with him. Time to try a different approach. "So, um Lando, about that…"  
  
"Would you like some wine, beautiful maiden?" Sasha giggled as Lando handed her his second wineglass. Wasn't that for Mara, though? Lando snapped out of his slight trance and noticed that Mara had been speaking to him. "I'm sorry Mara; were you saying something?" Something was not right.  
  
"Yes, I was going to ask you about that wine from earlier…"  
  
"Oh, of course. The table is directly to your left Mara." He than proceeded to talk up a storm with Sasha. 'What is going on here? First he won't pay attention to me, and then he's calling me Mara; not kitten or sweet pea or darling or my love, but Mara.' Giving up, Mara headed to the refreshments table and picked up a glass of wine. She drank it in one swig. Putting the empty glass down, she stared across the room; Luke was still talking to those people, and Lando and Sasha were still totally involved in each other. 'No wonder… they are both so egotistical it's scary.' She went over to a group of men and asked for the time. 21:30. She still had another hour to burn. 'Oh, well… I can use the time to get ready for Luke when he gets back… surprise him a little.' Mara walked over to Leia and thanked her for inviting her; yes the party was great, but she was tired and had classes tomorrow. Thank you again for the invite, hope to see you soon. Mara strolled over to the turbolift and pressed the down button. When the doors opened she stepped inside, and turning around she saw Lando and Sasha waving. Then they returned to their conversation. The doors closed on a very upset and angry Mara.  
  
  
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As soon as Mara got back to the hotel she went straight to the 5th floor, where her room (and conveniently Luke's) was located. She quietly slipped past the door to her room and, using the key she lifted from Luke's pocket, quietly entered his room. She shut the door behind her and left the key on the small foyer table. Kicking her heels off her aching feet, she made her way to the bed. She lied down, getting a feel for the bed since she would need to know everything about it to make the most of her night with Luke. Of course, she was also resting; but that didn't matter much. After a few minutes Mara got up and started to set up for the night. She expertly hid a pair of crystal-chip handcuffs behind the bed, then took her hair down. She knew how much Luke loved it when she had her hair down, tickling his chest. She sighed; just thinking of it was making her excited. She looked at her chronometer- 22:00. She had half an hour left before Luke came back; she might as well make herself comfortable. Lightly she plopped down on the bed again and just laid there, dreaming and scheming about what to do with her farmboy tonight.  
  
Mara sat up quickly. 'Gods… I fell asleep!' She got up and looked around. The room was still completely dark. She checked her chronometer- it was 01:30. So where was Luke? 'Maybe he didn't want to wake me up, so he went to take a shower or something.' She walked into the small foyer. The 'fresher door was ajar and the lights were off. Mara looked around again; where else could he possibly be? Then the realization hit her… he had never come back. This upset Mara even more then she already was. 'How could he forget about me?' Thinking about chewing him out, she decided to establish a Force connection with him.  
  
*Okay Skywalker, where are you?* She sent this and instead of getting a reply, she hit a Force wall. He blocked her? How could he?! 'Okay then, if he's gonna play mean, so am I. This is war, farmboy.  
'  
  
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Mara rolled over in her bed, trying to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep. She woke up when some couple across the hall started quarreling and hadn't been able to sleep since. She opened her eyes. The sun streamed in past the open curtains of the outside patio and landed in her eyes. She quickly shut them and rolled over again. Sighing, she snuggled deeper under the sheets. Here it was warm and the darkness she craved surrounded her.  
  
Just as she was about to drift off again, there was a loud crash somewhere in her hall, then a fusillade of voices spilled out into the hall, apparently cursing whatever just broke. 'Okay, fine. I give up.' Slowly Mara sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She slid her feet out from under the sheets and let the drop to the carpeted floor, then carefully stood up and stretched. Yawning, she pulled her arm to her face and looked at her chronometer- 11:45. What to do, what to do. Well, she was only here for five more days. And there was only one thing Mara could think of… shopping. She walked over to her travel bag and picked out a green tank top and a pair of black leather pants. This would be a sufficient shopping outfit. She ambled to the 'fresher, where she did her usual morning routine, then slipped her clothes on. After getting herself completely ready and putting her hair back in the mandatory braid, she left the hotel and walked towards the shopping district.  
  
Walking into a nice store, Mara immediately started poking around, draping shirts and pants of all sorts over one arm. She had finished the racks in the front of the store and was heading towards the dresses and suits in the back when she ran into none other than Lando Calrissian himself.  
  
"Hello Mara; lovely day, isn't it?"  
  
"Everything's lovely when you're around, Calrissian." Mara replied sarcastically.  
  
"I know, I know." Lando was so egotistical Mara's sarcasm flew right over his head. He paused, flipping through a rack of dress shirts. "Anyhow; I didn't know you and Sasha were such old friends." He had to bring up the past, didn't he?  
  
"Yeah, guess so." Mara didn't really want to discuss her and Sasha; especially after last night.  
  
"I mean, you've known each other since you were two! That's 26 years!"  
  
"Very good Calrissian, you can count." Instead of taking that deliberate brush-off from Mara, Lando continued on.  
  
"Yeah. She told me about how you two would have little battles and she would always win." Always win? Gods… Sasha would beat Mara one out of six times and then brag about her victory. What about her five losses? Sasha was always did brag a little too much… "She also told me how when you were teenagers you would always fight over the same guys, and she would always get him."   
  
'She would get him all right… when I was finished with him!' Mara was upset again. She couldn't believe Sasha would say those things. Lando had paused again, then he spontaneously started to snicker. "What's so funny?" He stopped, but unable to contain himself, started again. He was really starting to get to Mara. She glared at him. "You'd better tell me Calrissian, or I'll…"  
  
"Okay, okay… haha. I'll tell you… hehehe… but you can't get upset with me." He looked at Mara, who was very impatiently waiting for him to explain. "Okay, anyways…" He snickered. "Sasha told me about the time you… " He started laughing, trying his hardest to continue. "About the time you wet your pants during gym class!" At this Lando finally broke down, laughing extremely hard as people began to stare. Mara's face turned as red as her hair. Sasha had told him that, her most embarrassing secret? Somebody was going to die…  
  
Mara flopped onto her bed, exhausted and utterly embarrassed. She'd finally gotten away from Lando and finished her shopping, but she was still very upset. 'Time to call Sasha for a little heart-to-heart chat…' She fetched her datapad off her bedside stand and opened it, easily hacking into the registration lists of every hotel on the planet until she found where Sasha was staying. She quickly got the number of the hotel and Sasha's room number, then placed the mini-holo on her lap and dialed the hotel. 'Damn these mini-holos the hotels provide… all you can see is someone's face.' The number rang, and then the holo picture turned black as a machine came on, asking for a command.   
  
"Please connect me to room 203." There was a short beep, then the connection went through. On the third ring, the holo picked up, and Mara was staring at Sasha's face.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Sasha."  
  
"Oh, hi Mara! How is everything?" Like sithspit, that's how.  
  
"Great, just great." Sasha was going to die. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to get together and do something?"  
  
"Sorry, I can't." Sasha responded almost immediately. She obviously had important plans already. Might as well play her and find out what they are.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I have to go shopping for a new dress, and then I'm going out to dinner with Lando. You know, he's really a charmer…" She's going out… with Lando? A charmer?! Mara felt like she was going to just die and whither away right then and there. Her best friend ditching her to go on a date with Lando?  
  
"Hello? Courscant to Mara, are you still there?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Something just came up… gotta go." Mara quickly turned off her holo. What was going on here? 'First my boyfriend, now my best friend. Speaking of which, I haven't talked to Skywalker since the party last night.' She turned the holo back on and punched in Luke's room number. No answer.  
  
"Sith! Okay Jade, calm down. A nice shower would do you good." Deciding this was her best idea of the day (and the safest), Mara headed for the small 'fresher in her room. After stripping off her clothes, she started the shower. She stepped into the small enclosed space; the hot water at first scalding her skin while it pounded into her back. She sighed and leaned up against the front wall, letting the water pour over her head and down her body. She began to throw around the memories and thoughts of the past 24 hours, and soon she was buried up to her waist in nothing but grief and anger. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she found herself sitting on the bottom of the shower crying; the water washing the tears off her face.  
  
  
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Long after the hot water had run out, Mara finally pulled her weak and tired body off the floor and stepped out of the shower. She began to walk across the 'fresher to get her towel when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the singular floor-to-ceiling mirror. She stopped, then turned around and walked towards the mirror, watching her reflection grow. She stopped a few inches from the mirror and began to examine her naked body from head to toe, looking for imperfections. Her hair was matted to her hair and soaked, making it's bright red color appear dull. Her eyes were puffy and red, even though the water from her shower had cleaned the tears from her face. Her fingers were wrinkly from her who-knows-how-long shower. Other than these minor, temporary flaws, Mara's body was beautiful. 'So why didn't Luke show up last night?' The thought should have brought tears to her eyes, but she was completely cried out. Sighing in frustration, she walked over to the standard white hotel towel and wrapped it tightly around her perfect slender frame.   
  
After spending ten more minutes in the 'fresher blow-drying her hair and applying some very basic makeup, Mara finally emerged back into her room. She had just decided to take a nap and was about to drop onto the bed when there was a knock on her door. She reached out with the Force to discover the person's identity. She found the person was blocking his or her presence. Fine, she'd play the hard way.  
  
"Just a minute." She grabbed the white hotel bathrobe hanging on the headboard and slipped it on, then ripped off the towel from underneath it. She tossed the towel onto the 'fresher floor on her way to the door, and giving her hair a last minute brush through with her fingers, opened it.  
  
"Hey Mara… can I come in?" There stood Luke, looking very apologetic and upset. Mara just stared at him.  
  
"You want something Skywalker? It can't be that important because if it was, you would have thought of it last night." Mara glared at him darkly.  
  
"MJ, please. I can explain last night." Luke waited for a reply from Mara, but she just stood silently in front of him. He decided to take that as a continue. "I got caught up with all those politicians. We went out for some drinks, and I didn't realize until ten minutes before that I had to be back at the hotel..." He paused for a second. "…to meet you, of course. Well, I was on my way out when one of the guys stopped me. He told me I couldn't leave; that there was someone he had to introduce me to. I really did try to leave, MJ, but I couldn't get away. So he took me over to the corner and introduced me to…" He really didn't want to say it, he knew he would regret it. But was there ever a time in his life that he had lied to Mara? He continued. "… to Keira." At the mention of a girl's name, Mara got even more upset. But she decided to hold her tongue this once; she would always cut off Luke, and then they would always fight. She should give him a chance. She waited for him to finish; her eyes slitted like a cat's. "So, um… Keira turned out to be this politician's daughter. I told her it was nice meeting her, but I really did have to go, and she told me to stay. She said that a single young guy like me shouldn't be going to bed so early. So I ended up staying at the bar." Mara finally spoke.  
  
"So why didn't you say something?" Luke was exasperated.  
  
"What was I supposed to say Mara? That I had to get back to my secret girlfriend at the hotel, and oh while you're at it could you not tell anyone about it? I had no reason to leave but to see my girlfriend, and according to everyone in the galaxy, she don't exist" Luke stopped yelling. He could see his tone was upsetting Mara. He waited until he had regained the calmness of the Light, then continued. "I tried Mara. I really did." Mara took another turn.  
  
"So what you're saying is that you didn't show up at all last night because you were out with another girl."  
  
"Yes… I mean no."   
  
"Which one Skywalker?"  
  
"Technically, yes. I was out with her. But literally, no. I didn't want anything to do with her. She was just another one of those girls who chase after every guy they can find." Luke walked closer to Mara and cupped her chin in his hand. "All I could think about last night was you." He moved his face closer to hers and was about to place his lips on hers when she pushed him away.  
  
"Then why were you blocking me?"  
  
"Blocking you? What are you talking about?" Luke had no idea… why would he block Mara?  
  
"Last night when you didn't show up, I tried to contact you with the Force. All I got was a barrier."  
  
"But Mara… I didn't block you. Must have been ysalamiri or something in the bar." Why was he lying to her?  
  
"That's banthashit, Skywalker! If there had been ysalamiri in there, you wouldn't have been able to feel the Force! You would've noticed the change, even if you were drunk and with that floozy!"  
  
"Floozy? Now Mara, do you think you should start labeling people before you've even met them?"  
  
"Who needs to meet her?! If she's after my man, then she's a floozy!" Luke took a long look at his secret lover. Even if she was upset and very angry at him, he was still very happy to hear her say that. Her man… her man which hopefully she would never leave. If she only knew how much he truly loved her… "Are you listening to me?!"  
  
"Huh, um, what?"   
  
"Are you seeing her again?" Oops. That's what Luke forgot to tell Mara.  
  
"Um… yeah." Mara started to push him out the door. "No, wait MJ, please don't to this. I have no choice! Leia saw me in the bar chatting with her, and now she assumes I'm dating her. Keira set up our next 'date' in front of my sister! If I even try to stand her up, Leia will have my head!" Mara stopped her pushing suddenly, and because Luke was resisting her, the force of his weight threw him to the ground. She knew how Leia could act, and that thought alone made her feel bad for the farmboy. But she had to keep her tough act up. If he only knew how much she loved him…  
  
"Fine Skywalker. But listen to me now. This will be your only date. At the end of it you will tell her that you're not ready, and then you will go back to your hotel room."  
  
"But I need to make up for last night…"  
  
"No you don't Skywalker. You don't get rewarded for what you just did. You'll go to your room and take the night off. Maybe the next morning I'll be over it." Outside Luke looked devastated. But inside he was happier than ever. At least she wasn't going to throw him out and tell him to leave her alone and that she'd never speak to him again. He finally picked himself off the floor. He walked over to the door and out into the hall. He turned to look at her.  
  
*Gods, I love you Mara.* Luke began down the hall to his room when Mara's hand shot out of the door and grabbed the collar of his navy blue shirt. Before he could protest, Mara had yanked him back into her room.   
  
As soon as the door shut she was all over him. She turned him around and started walking him backwards towards the bed while she was kissing him and roaming her hands over his chest and back. When he stopped at the edge of the bed she gave him one hard push that sent him past the edge and flat onto his back. She climbed on top of him, her legs straddling his hips, and then ran her hands through his hair and grabbed two handfuls. Luke whimpered at the pain, but she used her hold to pull him even closer, smashing his mouth with hers.  
  
*Wha-what's going on MJ?*  
  
*I've decided that you still need some more punishing.*  
  
*What? Punishing?*  
  
*Uh-huh. And I know just how to do it…*  
  
  
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Tonight was the night; the night Luke would dump Keira. Mara was still really upset that Luke was still going out on a date with her, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made. She sighed softly as she buttoned up the top half of Luke's black silk shirt. She didn't want any floozy staring at her man's chest. Gods… she had never really liked his blacks, but he still looked so fine…  
  
"So, MJ… how do I look?" After Mara finished buttoning his shirt, Luke pivoted on his heel, putting his hands on his hips. This imitation of a supermodel brought a smile to Mara's face.  
  
"Beautiful, dahling, absolutely gorgeous!" Luke stopped after two full rotations, then put his hands on Mara's waist.   
  
"Mara… thank you so much for understanding. I really wish I didn't have to…"  
  
"It's alright. As long as there's no more Keira." Luke smiled, then gently pulled Mara toward him. Just as they were about to kiss, there was a short burst of knocks on Luke's door. Luke reached out… Leia! Luke jogged over to the door while Mara fumed about Leia once again interrupting them. Luke opened the door.  
  
"Leia, what are you…"  
  
"Checking on you! I just wanted to be sure that everything here was going well, because Keira's father is on the voting committee for the passing of the new bill. If everything goes smoothly on your date, then I might be able to persuade him to vote for passing…" Leia stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Mara was there. "Miss Jade; what an unexpected surprise." Mara noticed Leia's particular tone of voice; the one she used whenever she spoke to Mara.  
  
"I could say the same about you, Senator Organa-Solo." Daggers flew between the two women. Luke immediately predicted chaos.  
  
*Mara, please. Don't upset her.*  
  
"You're very… fiery today, Miss Jade." Leia shot another challenge at Mara.  
  
"Please, call me Mara. I'm not so high on myself that I need a formal title… Senator." Mara smirked as Leia's eyes widened considerably. She turned to her brother, who was standing very still.  
  
"Luke, what is she doing here?" Luke looked for an answer; saying Mara was there because they're secret lovers wouldn't fly well with Leia.  
  
"Well, um, sis…"  
  
"I was helping him pick out an outfit." Mara butted in, saving Luke. "So he would look nice for his date." She look at her chrono, then a fake expression of remembrance plastered itself to her face; her mouth forming a giant circle. "Oh, look at the time. I must be going now." She turned her sickly-sweet smile towards Leia. "I would love to stay and chat, Senator, but I have to get back to my room… all my boots need to be re-laced. Sorry!" Mara mockingly bowed to Leia, then waved to Luke as she walked out the door.  
  
"What… what… who does she think she is?!" Luke turned to Leia, who's face was flushed from anger and embarrassment. "Telling me I'm stuck up! I don't see why you even try to associate with her, the witch. I mean, she's always rude to you, and she even tried to kill you!" Luke glared at Leia as her words hit him.  
  
"You have no right to bring that up as an argument! That was the old Mara; she was under Palpatine's control. I suggest you drop that thought altogether." Leia stared disbelieving at her twin. He was defending Mara Jade? Ex-Emperor's Hand and little witch? She stared deep into Luke's eyes. There was a glimmer there; something that Leia had seen only once before, but not as clearly as it was showing now. Before she could remember what it was, Luke calmed down and whatever it was disappeared.  
  
"Look Leia, I'm sorry for yelling. I just think that…"  
  
"No, you're right." Leia interrupted. "I shouldn't judge people like that." She looked at her chrono. "Oh, Luke, you'd better go now… or else you'll be late for dinner with Keira!"  
  
"Oh, yes… that." Even though he smiled brightly on the outside, Luke was about as happy as a little boy who had just broken his favorite plastic X-wing. "Guess I'd better be going then."  
  
"Okay. See you later, brother; keep me up to par on how it goes."  
  
"Of course. Goodnight sister." Luke gave Leia a small hug, then straightening out his shirt, he turned and left the room. Leia was now alone.  
  
Leia watched her brother leave. A date with a girl would do him good. Her brother needed some happiness in his life, and there was no better way to give him happiness then to hook him up with a girlfriend. Well… Leia hoped it would come to that. She had met the beautiful Keira and thought her very suiting for Luke. 'Nice and polite… unlike that Jade character he hangs around with.' She finally left the room and shut the door behind her, then went down the turbolift and outside the hotel. She watched Luke walking off to the restaurant district, and when he was far enough, Leia began following him. Even as she was strolling down the street, Leia was already scheming.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
"This is an excellent dish! Are you enjoying it?" Luke looked up from his plate. Keira stared intently at him, her gray eyes sparkling.  
  
"Um, yes. Excellent." Luke took a moment to look his date over. She wasn't very tall… 5'3" to be exact, which was good for Luke, being that he was also a little on the short side. She was also small-boned, making her appear almost sickeningly skinny. She had small hips, and accordingly, a small chest to complete her perfectly-proportioned body. 'Not like Mara's beautiful curves…' Luke immediately stopped his short-lived daydream and resumed his summary of Keira. She had an oval face, framed by her short, bouncy blonde hair. She had a smallish nose, and perfect pink lips. Her piercing gray eyes completed the look. Tonight she was clad in a sparkling, backless black dress which fell to her ankles. A long slit went up the right side, revealing her small leg. Matching her dress was a pair of two-inch black sandals.  
  
"Luke, are you listening?"  
  
"Huh?" He looked up sharply to see Keira once again staring at him.  
  
"I asked, do you agree with the whole 'Corillians can't get drunk' folklore?"  
  
"Oh, no. Not at all!" Luke laughed as he thought of the many times he had seen Chewie haul a drunk Han Solo back onto the Falcon.  
  
"I don't either." Keira smiled as she looked at how happy Luke seemed at the minute. He was extremely handsome… and extremely single. If only…  
  
As dinner ended, Luke paid the bill, then walked Keira outside. The temperature was at a cool 70, and the velvet sky was clear and full of stars. Luke started off, walking Keira back to her small apartment (which was conveniently located near the hotel Luke was staying at). Now was the perfect time.  
  
"I had a lovely time tonight, Keira." She smiled and looped her arm through his, making Luke even more uncomfortable.   
  
"So did I. It's the nicest evening I've had in a long time."  
  
"Well, um, I'm glad…" Gods, this was going to be harder than he thought. 'It's now or never…'  
  
"Look, Keira, I had a great time…"  
  
"That's wonderful!" Luke and Keira turned around sharply at the excited voice just in time to see Leia stroll up behind them.  
  
"Leia, what…" Luke stuttered at the sudden appearance of his twin. Now was not the time!  
  
"Why, hello Senator Organa-Solo, what a lovely surprise!"  
  
"Good evening, Miss Siam. I hope your date went well."  
  
"Oh, it was wonderful! We had such a great time." Leia looked at Keira's fierce hold on Luke's arm. This could be good.  
  
"Excellent. So I assume you're setting up another date, since this first one was such a success." Luke panicked. 'No Leia, no! Why did you have to say that?!"  
  
"Of course we will… won't we, Luke?" He was trapped. Luke looked from Keira's wistful look, to Leia's you'd-better-for-your-own-health look, and back to Keira again. He really hated women…  
  
"Oh, uh, yes, of course."  
  
"Marvelous!" Leia clapped her hands together. She had gotten what she wanted. Playing matchmaker was always fun. "Well, I don't want to be interrupting the end of your date, so I'll be going. It was nice to see you again, Miss Siam."  
  
"The pleasure is mine, Senator. And please, call me Keira." This brought back the memories from her quarrel earlier with Hurricane Mara, which made her flush.  
  
"Okay… and call me Leia. Goodnight." She turned and walked towards her quarters at the NR building as Keira waved and Luke glowered behind her.  
  
'How could she?' Leia had ruined his perfect ditch speech. Now he was trapped on another date with Keira, which won't make Mara all that happy. But he could explain, right?  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
"Wrong!" Mara yelled at Luke. Clearly she didn't see things the way Luke had hoped. "You are not going out on another date with that, that… aneorexic little floozy!"  
  
"Mara, please… calm down." Luke pleaded pointlessly.  
  
"Calm down?! You come here just to tell me that you have a second date with the girl who you were supposed to dump yesterday, and then tell me to calm down? You're crazier than a jawa trying to tame a wompa!" Luke was silent; Mara did have a point. About him trying to calm her down, not the jawa comment. Of course, thinking logically about the jawa comment…  
  
"Gods Luke, will you answer me?!" Luke snapped back to attention. Did she just call him Luke…? If she used his first name, then she had to be extremely upset. Or extremely angry. Or both…  
  
"I'm… I'm sorry, Mara." Lukewhispered this quietly. The last thing in the universe that he wanted to do was upset his love.  
  
Mara stared deeply into Luke's baby-blue eyes. He really wasn't lying, was he? She could see that he didn't want to date this girl. He only wanted to be with her… Mara sighed.  
  
"Don't be; I'm the one who should be sorry." Gently she placed her hands on Luke's shoulder. "It's not your fault that you ended up on another date with whats-her-face." 'Yeah, cause we all know it's Leia's fault.' Mara thought silently to herself. She would have said it aloud, but she could see that Luke was already upset; he didn't need that too.  
  
Luke, on the other hand, was extremely confused. Mara had just done a complete 180 with her emotions; instead of yelling some irrational reply, she had smiled and took it like a level-headed person would. 'Something is weird here…'  
  
"… so we'll just forget about this, and you'll dump Keira tonight. Right?" Mara's hands squeezed Luke's shoulders, making him wince.  
  
"Yes, right Mara." Why did this always happen? Suddenly the word "leash" appeared in his mind.  
  
"Glood." As soon as Mara let her grip fall, Luke immediately began rubbing his sore shoulders. Mara had a strong grip, as well as ten very sharp nails. Mara looked down at her chrono. "Well, I've got to go now. I have some trading business to attend to." She gave each of Luke's shoulders a little kiss-you-better kiss, then a long, hard kiss on his mouth. Just as Luke was starting to enjoy it, she broke the kiss off, gave him a quick smile, and then took off out the door.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
After returning to the hotel, Mara quietly slipped into Luke's room. She would wait for him to return, and when he told her he had dumped whats-her-face, she would give him a little reward. Smiling to herself, she walked over to a dark corner ad sat in the singular chair, waiting for her love to return.  
  
Just as she was dozing off, she heard the click of the door's lock. The door slid open, revealing two black sillouettes. Mara was trying to figure out who the shorter person with Luke was, when it hit her.  
  
"The floozy." Mara jumped out of the chair and dived behind the curtains just as Luke flicked the lights on.   
  
"Um… this is my temporary living quarters." Mara heard Luke's distinctive voice echo through the room.  
  
"It looks very comfy." A small, higher-pitched voice answered him. Now Mara was sure that the other person was Keira. She could feel the rage building up inside of her. How could Luke bring that girl back to his room? Without even thinking, Mara jumped out from her hiding place, her blaster drawn and pointed at Keira.  
  
Luke had heard Mara's grand entrance. He quickly spun in her direction.  
  
Mara, what are you…" He stopped when he spotted her trusty blaster drawn at Keira, and Mara standing in an attack position. "Gods Mara, what are you doing? Put that away!" He slowly started walking over to her.  
  
Mara looked over at Luke, who had stared walking over to her. She gave him a small, quirky smile, then put about four pounds on a five-pound trigger. Luke immediately stopped.  
  
"Shut up Skywalker. I told you to get rid of her." Her grin got bigger, almost ironic, then she turned her gaze back to Keira, who was frozen in her spot. Her smile faded at the sight of the girl. "And since you didn't, I will." In one swift motion, Mara added that last pound to the trigger.  
  
Keira crumpled up and fell, shot straight through the heart.  
  
"Keira!" Luke shouted, then he ran over to her and fell on his knees. He gently lifted her limp back and shoulders off the ground and held her in his lap, looking for a small light of hope in her lifeless body. Her head rolled to the side, her short blonde hair spilling over her eyes. Nothing. She was really dead. Mara looked slowly at the scene in front of her. What had just happened.? Luke looked up from Keira's body, his eyes full of hatred.  
  
"You killed her, Mara. You killed her." Mara's mind started spinning wildly. Why was this happening? Her and Luke have killed many, many people; why was he mad now? Luke heard her thinking.   
  
"No, but… I…" Then the truth finally hit her. Her blaster slipped slowly out of her hand, landing softly in the carpet.  
  
"There are no excuses, Mara! You just killed an unarmed person, who was unaware of you! This isn't some mission, Mara… you just killed an innocent person!" Luke stopped shouting, his eyes going dim. "You won't be excused for this death."  
  
As Mara sank down to the floor, all she could hear was one word echoing through her head.  
  
Death.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Mara gasped and sat up, beads of sweat running down her entire body.   
  
'Oh gods, Keira…' She looked at her surroundings. This wasn't Luke's room… this was her room. She glanced down at her body- she was still wearing her business suit from her clientel interview earlier that afternoon. A huge sigh escaped from Mara's lips. It was all a dream.  
  
A dream. Deciding a warm shower would calm down her jumpy nerves, she walked towards the 'fresher, leaving a trail of clothes behind her as she stripped them off. By the time she reached the shower, she was clad in only her underwear. She unsnapped her front-clasp bra, which she loved to wear to confuse Luke, and let it fall to the floor. Next she swiftly slipped out of her panties. Completely naked, she stared at her body in the mirror like she had so many times before, wondering if Luke still loved her. She knew deep down that he did, unquestionably. But every girl, no matter how sure, has her doubts. And as any girl would, Mara wondered if Luke really did like Keira more than he let on.  
  
'What if he does like her more than me?' Mara turned herself so she was sideways, staring at her slender body. 'Is it because she's anorexically skinny? Or maybe he likes blondes.' Mara turned forward again, and grabbed a handful of her hair, studying the long coppery wisps that fell through her fingers. 'Maybe I should dye my hair blonde…' On and on the questioning went, until Mara shivered and realized that she had been standing in the 'fresher for 20 minutes, not moving. Quickly she turned the warm water knob in the shower, and waited for the water to heat up.  
  
Just as she was about to step into the now-steamy shower, the buzzer for her room went off. Quietly cursing to herself about death to the unfortunate person who interruped her shower, she grabbed the white bathrobe hanging on the headboard of her bed and threw it on while she walked towards the door. When she reached the door, she quickly tied the sash of her robe, then combed her hand through her hair. Satisfied that she looked okay for the moment, she opened the door.  
  
"Hello Mara… glad I caught you in. I wasn't sure if you'd be back or not." Luke was being suspiciously polite, so she reached out with the Force. There were a few people wandering around the hall where her room was. Time for the usual charade.  
  
"Well, you found me Skywalker."  
  
"I see… can I talk to you for a moment?" Mara looked at her chrono impatiently as a few people walked by them, then back at Luke.  
  
"Lucky you, Skywalker. You caught me during a break. Come on in, but make it short." Luke quickly stepped inside her room, and Mara closed the door. To Luke's surprise, she immediately threw herself into his arms and buried her head into his shoulder.  
  
"Oh, I thought I had lost you!" She gently pulled herself away from him and looked intently into his blue eyes. "Do you still love me, Luke?" Without being able to control himself, Luke started to laugh. When he opened his eyes and saw the serious look in her face, he immediately stopped.  
  
"Mara… why would you ask a question like that?" Mara stared at him, confused. Why would he answer her like that? Instead of letting her temper take over, she patiently waited for Luke to explain. She didn't have to wait long.  
  
"Until I die." Mara smiled at his answer. He was telling the truth.  
  
"And what about after that?" she prodded.  
  
"And through all of eternity." He looked at her lovingly, then asked, "But I'm still a little upset that you would actually doubt me enough to ask me."  
  
"Oh, farmboy." Mara ran her hand softly over Luke's cheek, then down to his jawbone. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I didn't mean…"  
  
"I understand. We've both been going through a great deal lately…"  
  
"Please forgive me?" Luke just stared at her for a moment. Like he could refuse her.  
  
"Of course I do. And do you forgive me?"  
  
"Always, farmboy." Mara gently kissed Luke, filling his soul with more passion and love just at that one moment than all of the nights they've ever spent together making love. Luke pulled away slowly, then looked at his chrono. It was 19:30. Almost time for his last date with Keira.  
  
"Mara, I have to go now… to get ready for…"  
  
"Understood. Go on Skywalker… you might be late."  
  
"Thank you so much for being there, Mara." He opened the door. A couple of people walked down the hall. "Thanks for your time." Mara grinned wickedly, then went back to her ongoing performance.  
  
"You should thank me… since you've wasted enough of it. Get outta here, Skywalker."  
  
"Gone, Jade." Luke grinned back, then walked a few feet down the hall and entered his own room. The door shut automatically, and sighing, Mara went back to her shower. She restarted the water, and when the 'fresher was filled with steam, she stepped in. Mara gasped as the hot water hit her body, stinging it but soothing her at the same time. She closed her eyes, letting the emotions from the past few minutes run through her body. Suddenly her face curled up like she had just eaten something sour.  
  
"What was that? Gods, that was so sappy… ewww." Mara then proceeded to scrub her body with a loofah. She had to admit, she did like the attention from Luke… but it was just too sappy.  
  
In the room next to Mara's, Luke listened as he heard Mara's shower running, and the faint sounds of notes passed through the wall as she sang to herself. He wished he could just sit there for eternity, listening to his angel. But he had a mission to accomplish; to take Keira out and successfully dump her, without Leia getting in the way. And there was only one way to do that- take Keira somewhere Leia wouldn't find them. That was virtually impossible on Coursant, though; this is Leia's planet, and she's everywhere. Luke sighed loudly.  
  
"How am I going to do this?"  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
As Luke was desperately trying to think of a break-up plan, Keira was a few blocks away, also devising a scheme. With a little help, of course.  
  
"Is that the entire plan?" Keira knelt on the platform of her room-size holo, head bowed and dressed entirely in black.  
  
"Yes. I want to see your mission completed. It would be a great waste if you fail." Keira looked up into the holo.  
  
"I won't fail, my master."  
  
"Good." The cloaked figure in the holo smiled, the shadows masking the person's face. "Now go, Young Siam, and destroy the Skywalker Jedi."  
  
"As you wish, my master." The holo on the receiving end shut off, leaving Keira in blackness. She stood up and left the room, then proceeded to her closet. She picked out a sparkling purple dress and put it on, delighing on how it enhanced her curves. Tonight she would put on the final act of the biggest play of her life. Then, she would murder Luke Skywalker.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
"Hi, are you ready?"  
  
"Sure am." Luke couldn't help but gape a little at how stunning Keira looked. She was wearing a strapless purple dress with a little sparkle, which made her body appear curvier and brought a little color to her gray eyes. Luke stepped aside, letting Keira walk by him and out her door.  
  
"Well then, let's get going." Luke walked her to a small black hovercar he had rented for the night. He opened her door, letting her slide inside before he closed it, and then walked around and got in on his own side. The drove in silence for almost half-an-hour until they reached a small, secluded café outside of the resteraunt district; hopefully Leia wouldn't look for them there. Luke parked, then walked around and opened Keira's door, escorting her out of the car and into the café. Heading inside, Keira looked around and then chose a small booth in the back of the establishment. They sat down, and immediately a waiter droad was in front of them.  
  
"Can I get you some drinks?" it asked them in a metallic, monotone voice. Obviously an older model.  
  
'Um…" Luke looked at the droid, then at Keira. "Anything…"  
  
"We'll have some wine." Keira said to the droid. She wanted to make this mission as easy as possible…  
  
"Okay then. Some wine, please; house wine."  
  
'I will be back with your order." the droid rattled, then it clanked off towards the kitchen, leaving Luke and Keira alone. Alone to think.  
  
On one side of the small booth, Luke was thinking of how to gently break up with Keira. He wanted so badly to do it right now, but that wasn't the proper thing to do. That, and if Keira went home upset, she'd tell her father… who'd tell Leia… which would all come back to him. Of course, if he only knew what Keira was planning at that moment, he would have left before they sat down. If he only knew…  
  
The droid came back with a bottle of wine. Luke opened it and poured a glass for Keira, then himself. Keira held up her glass, giving Luke a huge smile.  
  
"I propose a toast. A toast to our great relationship." Keira smiled brighter, then stared at Luke intently. His arm raised slowly, the glass finally clinking with Keira's.  
  
"Uh… a toast." Luke watched as Keira drank her glass of wine, then he drank his. Even though everything was going fine, Luke still had a small tugging at the back of his mind that something weird was going on. Jedi Sense, you can call it. Luke ignored the warning for now, even as Keira was leading him into danger. Keira hadn't drugged the wine or anything drastic like that; she didn't want to cause a disturbance. She was just keeping Luke relaxed, hoping he would drink more. That way, he would get drunk; and that would make her plan all the easier to accomplish.   
  
Later the droid returned again, this time to take dinner orders, then leaving the two alone for another quiet wait. Luke was nervous enough to have already drank three glasses of wine and start on his fourth, while Keira was still on her second. Now he wasn't thinking as clearly as he usually did. Keiar was still thinking as sharply as she usually did, though; she had to get Luke in exactly the position she needed him in. Of course, the position her mast had originally intended has changed. After being with Luke for a while, Keira started to notice that not only was he an amiable person, but he had a very nice, well-built body. And with his Jedi powers, he probably had some special moves…  
  
"Your dinner is ready." The droid came back for the third time, setting down plates of food. Luke thanked the droid and it left, the bolts inside it rattling as it rolled across the café to another table.  
  
Dinner was almost as silent as earlier. There were few words exchanged between the pair- each was busy with their respective plan. Luke was still worried about hurting Keira's feelings and how to put her down nicely. Keira was planning how exactly she was going to get the Jedi into her bed. Everything was turning out perfectly.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
About twenty miles away, Mara was pacing back and forth across her hotel room. It was her last night on Courscant; tomorrow she was traveling back to Yavin IV with Luke. And on the subject of the Jedi farmboy, Mara hadn't heard from him at all. Hence all the pacing.  
  
'He was supposed to contact me… wonder what he's doing… is he breaking up with the aneorexic floozy now?' These thoughts and others flooded Mara's mind, leaving little room for anything else. 'Maybe he's in trouble… no, he's a Jedi… he's fine… that Keira is weak and as harmless as a pea…' Mara sighed; she should quit worrying. She layed down on her bed and stretched, then closed her eyes and stared into the blackness behind her eyelids. So dark, so beautiful…  
  
*Mara, love, are you there?*  
  
"Luke!" Mara yelled. Her eyes popped open; Luke wasn't there.  
  
*Mara?* It took her a minute to realize Luke was talking through her mind.  
  
*Luke! Yes, I'm here. Where are you?* Mara checked her chrono- 22:15. He's been out for a while.  
  
*We're just leaving the café.* There was a short pause as Mara waited for Luke to say something else. *I'm going to break up with her now.* That's exactly what Mara had wanted to hear. She jumped up and started dancing around the room, squealing with delight.  
  
"Bitch is gone, bitch is gone, the aneorexic bitch is gone!"  
  
*Hello, Jade? Still there?* In all her excitement Mara once again forgot that she was communicating with Luke. She turned around to answer Luke, once again forgetting he wasn't there, while in the process tripping over a discarded shoe. Mara pitched forward, heading straight for the floor.  
  
Everything started moving in slow motion. Mara looked forward and saw her face rushing towards the ground. 'This is gonna hurt…' Mara waited in fear for her face to slam into the ground. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain. It never came. When Mara realized something was weird, she slowly opened her eyes. What she saw shocked her. Her face was centimeters from the ground; she was floating. Tenitavely, she placed her hands palm down against the carpeting- nothing happened. Mara smiled to herself… this was so awesome! Her mind began to wanderas all the possibilities of this "thing" she had just discovered when suddenly it dissapeared. Her hips slammed into the floor as her hands saved her nose from destruction. Mara laid there for a moment, one of the longest moments she could ever remember, her mind whirling. What had just happened to her? What was going on…?  
  
*Oh, gods Luke… I don't know what just happened… Luke?*   
  
Unknown to Mara, when Luke couldn't get her to answer, he had opened his senses fully to the Force and concentrated highly on Mara, hoping that she wasn't in danger. He stopped in midstride, annoying a few people.  
  
"Luke? What are you doing, dear? Why did you stop walking?" Keira tugged on his arm, trying to get him to move. Like a rock, Luke didn't move. He had found Mara's presence; she was in her hotel room, like he thought. She seemed to be alright…  
  
Without any warning, Luke felt a huge, concentrated blast of power rip through his senses, which sent him flying. Literally. It came aa a great shock to the people milling around outside when a man, who just seemed to be standing there, suddenly cried out and flew back ten feet, hitting the brick wall of the café. Slamming into the wall, the back of Luke's head made a loud crack as he fell unconscious. He then fell forward, his knees pounded into the sidewalk. The crowd of pedestrians rushed over, wondering what had just happened and if he needed help.  
  
Luke was just waking up, his body fighting for breath when two or three pairs of arms, including Keira's, lifted him to his feet. He lifted his now aching head, waking up to a multitude of beings staring at him.  
  
"Hey son, you okay?"  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"Did you see that? He just flew into the wall…"  
  
"Do you need medical assistance?"  
  
"Who cares? Someone call them anyway!"  
  
"Is he hurt bad?"  
  
"That was quite a fall." Too many people crowding him, too many questions…  
  
"Please! I think he'll be fine. Give him some air." Keira, looking very worried, shooed the small group away. "He'll be good as new in a few minutes. Don't worry about him." Luke finally caught his breath.  
  
"It's okay… I'm fine. Thank you all so much for your concern." Luke winced as he said he was fine. What a load of bantha crap he was feeding them. "I'm alright now." Satisfied with his answer, everyone dispersed, leaving Luke alone on the sidewalk with Keira.  
  
'What the hell was that? I don't know what's going on… I wonder… maybe he knows about my plan. Maybe he's tring to off himself before I can do it… it's time to end this act.' Keira thought hastily to herself. 'It's already gone on too long.' She started dragging Luke down the street towards her apartment; Luke's headache getting worse as he tried to fathom what had just occurred.  
  
'What was that? It was like… like a giant shockwave. But it had to be Force-driven… no one else felt it… apparently.' More ideas popped into Luke's pounding head. 'Someone around here must have used a great deal of energy at one time. But I was only focusing on…'  
  
"Mara."  
  
"Huh?" Keira may have been concentrating on dragging Luke somewhere secluded to seduce and kill him, but she was still alert enough to notice him muttering another girl's name.  
  
"I'm sorry… did I say something? Oww." Luke said slowly, then closing his eyes as his brain played professional wrestling inside his head. Maybe Keira was hearing things…  
  
"No, nothing at all. Oh, look… we're here!" Keira said, her voice morphing from britter to cheerful. Luke looked up from the sidewalk to see himself standing in front of Keira's apartment. And he was supposed to break up with her!  
  
"Um, Keira, I…" Suddenly a rush of chills ran up and down his spine, causing him to twitch.  
  
"Yes Luke?"   
  
"Oh, um, sorry… forgot what I was saying."  
  
'Must've damaged something…' Keira thought sarcastically. She opened the door, then began pulling Luke behind her.  
  
'Something's not right here…' Luke thought as he was pulled behind Keira. The Force was trying to warn him, but Luke kept walking up the steps, following Keira like he was in a trance. His body wouldn't stop as he fell through the doorway of Keira's apartment. The door shut quickly behind him. If he only knew what he was being warned about…  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Mara reached out farther, maxing herself out with the amount of Force power she was conducting through her body. She was really starting to panic now. Luke was missing. Not in the lost sense; he was missing from her mind. After her unusual (and tramatizing) incident, she had tried to contact Luke, but to no avail. It was so natural with their bond that she didn't even have to concentrate. But now she was straining; and there was no trace of him. Mara quickly grasped the closest answer in her mind.  
  
"He's in danger." Mara grabbed her black flightsuit, that to everyone who knew her meant that she was going on an important mission, and quickly slipped it on. She then braided her hair back as she called her lightsaber. Snapping a band around the bottom of her braid to keep it in place, she then shoved her trusty blaster inside the built-in holster in the left calf of her suit. She grabbed her lightsaber, turning it into the only occupant of her hip holster, then left the hotel, heading for the last place Luke had been.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Luke felt really strange. His entire body was numb, and his mind was slowly falling asleep. He was so out of it that he didn't even notice when the Force had disappeared as he stepped through Keira's doorway. He didn't even know why he was at Keira's in the first place. Luke felt a small pressure on his right wrist; the only thing that wasn't numb. He turned his head slowly, his brain still aching.; Keira was attached to his arm.  
  
"Luke, you look really tired. Here, let me show you the couch.  
  
"Okay." Luke mumbled, the only thing he could manage to say. Keira led him to the next room, where a couch was placed in front of a holo video and a very ancient, antique fireplace. Luke sat down heavily as Keira shoved a glass of water in his face.  
  
"Here, have some water. It'll help to dilute the wine."  
  
"Mmmm." Luke gurgled as he drank down the cool liquid. Suddenly he was  
numb and very drowsy, and the las thing he saw before he blacked out was the evil smile painted onto Keira's face.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Mara reached the small café in record time. She had sprinted the entire ten miles, and surprisingly she still had tons of energy. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins with an electrifying effect; Mara felt almost invincible. She strided into the café, a few stray hairs framing her face. A few people noticed and turned to look at the woman in the form-fitting black flightsuit, lightsaber attached to her holster and, unknown to them, a small blaster under her left pant leg. She quickly walked up to the first waiter she saw.  
  
"Did you see a couple come in? A guy, about 5'8", dark blond hair and blue eyes. And a girl, about 5'3", short blonde bob and grey eyes, very aneorexic…"  
  
"I'm sorry, ma'am… I'm helping someone else right now. You'll have to wait…" Wait was one word not included in Mara Jade's vocabulary. She reached out and grabbed the guy's collar and pulled him right up to her. He was only about 17 or 18… a teen with a part-time job just trying to earn some credits.  
  
"Well, now you're helping me. Now, did you see them?" Mara gripped his collar tighter. The boy's eyes opened real wide.  
  
"Um, yeah… they left about ten minutes ago. You just… just missed them." he said nervously.  
  
"Okay… which way'd they go?" Mara's frantic gaze scared the youth more.  
  
"Um… well…"  
  
"Which way?!" Mara tightened her grip more, her gaze penitrating deep into the kid's mind. He cowered next to her, close to tears.  
  
"Left! Down towards the residential district! I swear, I'm telling the truth! Please don't hurt me!" The kid wimpered at Mara. She looked at him. The boy didn't have to add the last parts; Mara could easily sense that he wasn't lying. And he wasn't worth the trouble of getting her hands dirty.  
  
"Thanks kid." Mara let go of his collar, and handing the kid a few credits, sprinted out the door. She ran back towards the hotel, recalling something Luke had mentioned a few days ago. Something about Keira living a few blocks from the hotel. Slightly boosting her speed with the Force, Mara barreled down the sidewalk. She knew exactly where she was going.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Slowly one eye opened. All he could see was blackness. Luke opened his other eye, then groaned at the ache behind his eyes. Where was he? He searched his mind for any recollection of his whereabouts. Nothing. Luke let his eyes adjust to the dark, then looked around the room he was in. It wasn't much more than a blurry mess, filled with shadows varying in size and shape. That didn't help him too much. Luke went to roll his legs off what he suspected was a bed that he was lying on. They didn't budge.  
  
"What the…" he mumbled. Next he tried to move his arms. They were also restrained. "What's going on?" Luke asked the darkness. It wasn't in much of a talking mood. He was bound by something, he knew that; and to a bed. Luke swore inwardly as memories suddenly flooded his mind, making him cringe. Not something he wanted to think about at the moment. Luke closed his eyes and concentrated on removing the bands holding him to the bed. He reached out- and found nothing.  
  
"Sith!" he whispered fiercely. There was no Force anywhere. Why was there no Force? All of a sudden the events of the past night flooded into his head; taking Keira out to dinner, drinking a little too much, coming back to Keira's apartment…  
  
"Ah, I see my Jedi has awakened. Good evening, Luke. Did you sleep well? I'm sure you did, the sleeping drugs in the water I gave you should've knocked you out for a lot longer. You're very strong."  
  
"Keira? What are you doing? Why…" Luke was silenced by her hand over his mouth.  
  
"Don't ask questions, Luke… just accept your destiny."  
  
"What is my destiny?" Keira smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"To die." Slowly Keira bent down over him, then ripped Luke's shirt off. Luke was in pain, tied to a bed, and not very happy.  
  
"Hate to tell you, Keira," Luke started slowly, "but stealing my shirt isn't gonna kill me." Keira kept smiling.  
  
"Oh, I said you will die, Luke. But I didn't say what would happen in the meantime." The smirk on Luke's face after his sarcastic reply abruptly turned into a hard line. His eyes widened slightly; he had caught the meaning of her last remark. She wasn't going to kill him immediately. First she was going to get what she wanted…  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, yes Luke." He felt Keira's gaze slide up and down his body. "I'm conservative; I don't like to let useful things go to waste." Luke watched in horro as she ran one manicured nail up and down his chest. She looked up and saw his expression. Keira put on an over-acted pout and leaned her face in towards Luke's. He turned his head to the side; he could still feel her warm breath on his ear. Keira's pout disappeared, replaced by an angry line. She leaned in closer to Luke.  
  
"My advice: don't think about it. You may not enjoy it, but I know your body will." She pushed herself back up, then looking at the top of his pants, she moved her hand toward the zipper. Slowly she unzipped his pants and Luke desperately struggled to move away from her grasp.  
  
"Not again; please no, not again…" In trying to move away, he accidentally made one wrong move, brushing past Keira's hand. The slight touch made a rush of electricity shoot through his nerves, setting them on fire. Luke made an attempt to cover up the small gasp that spilled from his mough, but Keira's keen ears had picked up exactly what she was waiting to hear.  
  
"See, I told you. Just lie back and go with the flow. Fighting it will just make it worse… for you, anyway." Luke wanted with all his heart to fight her, but she was right. If he tried to fight her, another "incident" would come up, and then all his hopes of escaping would vanish. With no other alternatives and beaten, Luke laid still and wished he could free his mind and disappear as Keira slowly finished taking off his pants.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Running like she was trying to set a new galaxy record, Mara sprinted down the last few blocks to Keira's apartment, passing her hotel on the way. Just as she ran past it, a loud voice shouted at her.  
  
"Mara! Hey, what's the hurry?"  
  
'No… no!' Mara thought. 'It's can't be… not now…'  
  
"C'mon kitten, the mouse you're chasin' is gone." Maybe if she just kept running…  
  
"Hey, stop!" All of a sudden there was a body running next to hers, threatening to pass her. She felt the person grab her arm and slow down, dragging her along. Soon she was at a complete stop. "Gods… where'd you learn to… run so fast?" Lando panted heavily as Mara stood next to him, barely even breaking a sweat.  
  
"Look Lando, I really don't have time…" Mara would have taken off again by now, but she was still in shock. She was using the Force to boost her speed and endurance. How on Courscant had Lando Calrissian caought up with her?  
  
"Well, I wanted to… talk to you about…"  
  
"Not now Calirssian! I really don't have time… call me later or something." And on that note Mara took off again, leaving Lando in the dust. She kind of felt bad for leaving Lando behind like that… he had made an effort to catch her, anyway. And what on Courscant was she thinking… telling Lando to call her?  
  
"Now how am I gonna tell her if she keeps runnin' off?" Lando said to himself as he watched Mara turn a corner and dissapear. He turned away, disheatened, and walked off.  
  
Mara ran down the street faster than she had ever ran in her entire life. People turned to catch a glimpse of the blur flying past them, but saw nothing but a flash of red and black. In another minute or so she had reached Keira's small apartment. She skidded to a halt in front of the building, and taking a deep breath, walked up to the door and knocked.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Keira was straddling Luke, just about to strip him of his last piece of clothing when a volley of soft thuds floated in from the livingroom. Keira ignored them, hoping they would go away. But someone knew she was home; the thuds just got louder and more persistent.  
  
"Damn them." she muttered. Slowly she climbed off of Luke, who sighed with relief. She grabbed a robe to cover her half-naked body and wrapped it around herself as she headed into the small livingroom. She walked over to the door and looked out of the small eye-piece in the middle. There was a red-haired woman, wearing a black flightsuit who had an extremely big head.  
  
'Odd,' Keira thought, 'she doesn't look like she's selling anything.' The woman looked around, then knocked again. 'Might as well…' Keira opened the door and found herself face-to-face with the woman.  
  
"Can I help you?" Mara stepped inside, not waiting to be invited in. A sudden rush went through her as the Forse disappeared from her.  
  
'She has to have Luke! Why else would she keep ysalimiri in her house? Well, time for the big chance…' Mara turned around to look at Keira as she shut the door.  
  
"I'm here for the Jedi." Obviously her statement had hit the mark; Keira's sickeningly sweet smile vanished.  
  
"How did you know about him?" Mara gave her a smile.  
  
"Skywalker? I was given orders to capture him." Keira gazed coldly at Mara.  
  
"By whom?" Mara was caught now. Who would Keira report to?  
  
"The master." What else could she say? She was being as vague as possible, hoping that Keira (if that was her real name) was working for someone. Preferrably a master.  
  
"The master? But she told me I was to kill the Jedi!"  
  
"Well, she changed her orders. She has sent me to recover Skywalker and return him to her. I'm assuming she has plans for him." Well, now Mara knew Keira was working for another woman. How amusing. Keira smiled at Mara, then began to laugh. "I'm sorry… what's so amusing?" Mara asked her.  
  
"And to think… for a minute there I was about to believe you!" Keira laughed a little more, then stopped. The scowl returned to her face. "Were you really expecting to trick me into giving you the Jedi?"  
  
'Damn, she's good… guess she's an actress… a prima donna, more like it.' Mara decided to play innocent.  
  
"Trick you? What do you mean? Those were just my orders…"  
  
"Enough!" Keira shouted at Mara. Mara stopped, waiting to hear what Keira had to say. "If the master had any orders, she would have told me directly, not send some newbie recruit. Who are you, by the way. I admire your perserverance… maybe I can put in a good word for you…"  
  
"I'm your worst nightmare." Mara interjected before Keira could finish. Mara quickly drew her blaster and aimed it at Keira's heart. There may not be any Force, but Mara was still a crack shot. "I'll give you a choce; you give me Skywalker and go free, or I'll kill you and take him myself."  
  
"I'll choose or." Suddenly the blaster flew out of Mara's hand and over to Keira. She grabbed it and pointed it at a very stunned Mara.  
  
'But what about…'  
  
"The ysalimiri?" Keira finished for Mara. "Special breed. We genetically altered their DNA so that they only block the Light. The Dark Side is now unaffected by their natural shields." Keira put her finger on the trigger. "Now, I'll give you a choice; you leave peacefully, and I'll let you live, or you can resist me and I'll kill you." Mara sneered.  
  
"I'll choose or." Mara whipped out her lightsaber and turned it on just in time to delfect the bolt Keira had aimed at her chest. Mara jumped back and stepped on an old blanket in corner. Something squirmed under it.  
  
'Look what I found…' Mara dodged another blast from her own blaster, then smiling, stabbed her lighsaber down into the blanket. There was a tremendous wail, then the Force flooded back into that section of the apartment.  
  
"Oops, I'm sorry… did I kill your little pet?" Keira hissed at her, then charged, firing the few bolts left in the blaster.  
  
The bolts came at Mara one after the other in an inhuman pace. Lucky enough to dodge one, Mara did a dive-tumble across the floor and then deflected another bold that was inches from her head. Spotting a bold heading towards her right side, she sidestepped it. But Keira was a second ahead of her. Right after aiming for Mara's right side, she shot a bolt to the left. Mara stepped right into it. She felt a wave of pain as the bolt caught the side of her thigh, leaving a nice gash.  
  
"Sith!" Mara hissed as she fell down. Keira stopped her bombardment; a sickly-sweet smile once again spread across her face. She slowly walked over to Mara, who was now defenseless. She had dropped her lighsaber when she was hit and it had rolled into another corner of the room still protected by the mutant ysalimiri. There was no way she could call it.  
  
Keira stopped when she was right in front of Mara. She slowly brought her arm up. Aiming the blaster at Mara, she moved her arm forward until the barrel of the blaser was resting on Mara's forehead. Keira cocked the small contraption.  
  
"You know, you really shouldn't play games that are over your head. Did you really think you could defeat me, Jade?" Mara gasped as she heard her name. How did she know? "You worked for the Emperor once, didn't you? Your techniques are familiar to me. That's how I was able to conclude that you worked for the Emperor. And earlier I heard the Jedi mumble the name Mara. I remember there being a Mara… you were the Emperor's hand, were you not? But you left for your mission… a mission you failed." Keira's dark scowl returned. "Why do you think I was sent on this mission?"  
  
"Because after I left, you wre the best the Emperor could scrounge up?" The barrel was shoved harder against Mara's head, making her wince in pain.  
  
"I should shoot you now… but I've always liked to play with my enemies." Keira regained her composure, plastering on her fake smile once again. "I was sent here because I'm the best." Keira leaned over farther so she could shisper in Mara's ear. "I don't know about you, but I think the best deserves the best." Mara sat silently, racking her brain. What in the galaxy was she talking about? Keira continued. "So after I kill you, I will have the best…" Mara entered her mind, finding that she was sitting on a line between the Force and emptiness, and was gripped with rage as she saw Keira's thoughts of her and Luke together…  
  
Keira knew Mara was in her mind. "Like what you see?" She stood back up, then put about four pounds on a five-pound trigger. "Don't worry… you won't live to see it." Keira with Luke, her Luke, doing those things to him…  
  
"NOOOOO!" Keira shot the blaster.  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
A huge shokewave of energy engulfed Keira's apartment. Three death wails were heard as her remaining mutated ysalimiri were instantly killed. Keira was thrown backwards, slamming into her couch and flipping over the back.  
  
"What the…" Keira growled in pain as she stood up slowly. Her eyes widened as she looked over in Mara's direction; what she saw almost killed her.  
  
Mara was still lying on the floor, eyes closed, waiting for the quick blackness to come and swallow her. But it never happened. Slowly she opened her eyes. There was a transparent green shield in front of her, and the laser bolt Keira had shot at her- frozen in mid-air. She spotted Keira behind the couch, wearing the most frightened expression she had ever seen in her life.  
  
Luke heard three distinct wails, and was then hit with a huge blast of energy. His body bounced up at the shock, pain radiating through him. He heard Mara's desperate last scream ringing through his head., echoing like bells. Suddenly, the bonds holding him to the bed broke, and the pain stopped as his body fell back onto the bed, bouncing a couple of times. Luke laid still for a moment, not even wanting to question what had just happened. Mara's voice continued to sound in his head, and realizing she might be in trouble, he stumbled out of the bedrrom and towards the disaster area.  
  
Keira was still staring shocked at Mara when Luke emerged from the bedroom. He rubbed his still aching head (will it ever stop?) as he stepped through the doorway, and seeing Keira staring at something, he quietly snuck over. He looked around Keira to see Mara enveloped in the Force. Luke froze in almost the same way Keira had, speechless. Mara looked over hesitantly as she saw movement from the corner of her eye.  
  
"Luke!" She went to get up and the green shield began to quaver. The laser bolt began to inch forward slowly.  
  
"Mara… watch out!" Mara rolled out of the way just as the shield broke. The bolt flew centimeters from her head and slammed into a glass vase, shattering it.  
  
"Holy Kreath!" Mara yelled loudly. She stood up quickly and looked around; Luke was stumbling over to help her, Keira had fallen into a sitting position.  
  
"MJ, are you okay?" Luke asked with genuine worry as he reached Mara and grabbed her into a big hug.  
  
"Do you think I'm okay?" Mara shot back.  
  
"Well…"  
  
"I've been shot in the leg, I think I've dislocated my shoulder, I was inches away from having my head blasted off, and…" Mara trailed off as she accidentally put weight on her bad leg.   
  
"I'm sorry I asked." Luke replied sarcastically as he moved to support Mara. Mara gave him an evil glare, but he just smiled back at her.  
  
"Shut up farmboy… we have something to take care of." Luke followed Mara's gaze to Keira's small form on the floor, frozen. Her mouth was somewhat twitching; trying to say something. Luke walked over to her and grabbed her arm. Keira didn't resist; she just kept staring at Mara. Feeling like a freak sideshow, Mara limped over to the other woman, fire in her eyes.  
  
"Now, what were you saying?" Keira's eye twitched and her mouth began to work, but no sound came out. "Come on, " Mara prodded, "you were waying something…" Finally Keira's vocal chords began to work.  
  
"How… what…"  
  
"That's not going to save your sorry ass now." Mara took her arm from Luke, then looked at him. "I'll take care of this… you go find a holo and call for some backup." Not read to see the fire Mara was about to release on Keira, Luke obiediently wobbled off in search for some kind of communication device. After he disappeared behind a door, Mara turned back to Keira.  
  
"Told you to give me the Jedi."  
  
"What in the galaxy did you do? What was that? Where did you obtain that kind of power?"   
  
"My little secret." Mara smiled smugly on the outside, but inside she was trembling. She was about as clueless as Keira on that subject, and it scared her. "So, are you going to go to the jail peacefully, or am I going to have to kill you?" Mara let go of Keira's arm and Keira shrank bck towards the wall, Mara following her footsteps. As soon as Keira found the wall and had backed up as close against it as she could, she slid down; hugigng her knees to her chest.  
  
"I've… I've never seen anything like that…" Keira looked up, then she began to whimper. "I don't want to die… please don't kill me…"  
  
"Weak girl," Mara spat at her, "this is why you never would have won. I'm not going to kill you, so quit sniveling. I don't kill unarmed, helpless fools like you." Mara's gaze bore into the top of Keira's blonde head. Hearing footsteps, she looked up in time to see Luke return.  
  
"I called the local officials. They're sending over some guards to take her to the inuisition station." Luke moved closer to Mara, whispering the next part into her ear. "They hope to figure out who sent her." Mara turned away nervously. She knew, but how could she tell Luke…  
  
*Tell me, Mara*  
  
*Tell you what, farmboy?* Luke gently put his hands on Mara's shoulders, then when she winced he removed one hand. He turned so she was facing him.  
  
*You know who she was working for. I can feel it. Tell me.*  
  
*The Emperor.* Luke's eyes cast down when he heard this. It couldn't be, it just couldn't…  
  
There was a knock on the door, then four guards entered the small room. Three went directly to Keira and handcuffed her as she was sniffing and whispering, "Please don't kill me, I don't wanna die, please…" The fourth guard walked over to Luke and Mara. He smiled, despite the grim aura of the room.  
  
"What did you do to that chick? She's going nuts!"  
  
"Voodoo magic." Mara said to him.  
  
"No, really, what did you do?" He waited for an answer, but the two Jedi just stared him down. "Um, okay. Anyway, orders from Leia Organa-Solo state that you two need to head over to her office while we take this kook," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder in Keira's direction, "down to the station."  
  
"Thank you." Luke replied, then grabbed Mara's arm and dragged her outside, ignoring advice from the fourth guard to take a trip to the med center first. They had just stepped out of the front door when Luke turned to Mara.  
  
"What happened back there?"  
  
"What do you mean, Skywalker? I just saved your…" Mara started as she turned to walk to the hotel. Luke grabbed her good arm and stopped Mara dead in her tracks, then she turned back towards him.  
  
"You know what I mean, Mara. What was that energy I felt? What did you do?"  
  
"I…" Mara started, ready with a sarcastic reply, when she stopped. "I don't know." She whispered. A few tears found their way to her eyes, the fear in her body growing. "Luke… I don't know what's happening; I'm scared…"  
  
"Don't be, " Luke said quietly, then pulling Mara towards him, he hugged her tightly, "because no matter what happens, I'll always be here to help you… for you."  
  
*Always?* Mara sent to him quietly, her head still buried in his shoulder.  
  
*Always.*  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
"Stupid, boring parties. Why do I always get dragged to these things…" Mara mumbled as she stood by the wall, sipping a glass of champagne. Leia was throwing another party, but this time it was different. Instead of the usual senatorial hub-bub, this particular bash was in Mara's honor. She had saved Luke's life, and even though Leia didn't have the best relationship with Mara, the woman had saved her brother. That put Mara in Leia's respect long enough for a party. But even if this party was for her, it was a NR party, so it sucked.   
  
"Hello Jade, congrats." Mara looked up from her almost empty glass to see Lando standing in front of her.  
  
'Some things never change…' "Hey Calrissian, what do you want?"  
  
"Actually, I was stopping by before I leave."  
  
"Leave?" He was leaving? Bue he has business on Courscant for at least six more weeks…  
  
"Yeah. I was trying to tell you a couple of days ago… when you were running down the street, remember?" Mara remembered vaguely… running, Lando, more running… "Well, anyway, I'm going back to Cloud City… with Sasha." Mara stared silently at him. He's leaving her… for her best friend?!  
  
"But, what about…"  
  
"My work here? Everything's been modified so I can complete it from Bespin." Just then Sasha walked up, draping her arms over Lando's shoulders.  
  
"Hey handsome, how are ya? Oh, hey Mara! Congratulations on your big save." Big save… only Sasha would talk about life like it was a sport. Oh, well…  
  
"Thanks… how are you? I mean, I haven't talked to you in a couple of days." Mara asked this while she was looking down at her now copletely empty glass. When she looked up all she saw was Sasha and Lando kissing passionately. "Sasha? Calrissian? Hello?" Nothing. "Okay, fine then. I'm outta here. Nice seeing you, Sasha… and good riddance to you, Calrissian!" Mara made a big exit from her corner, then turned around. They hadn't moved.  
  
'Okay, forget them.'  
  
"Feeling jealous, Jade?" Mara turned around just to come face-to-face with Luke.  
  
"Jealous? Of what?"  
  
*How can I be jealous when I have the Jedi Master wrapped around my finger?*  
  
"Oh, nothing"  
  
*Wrapped around your finger, huh? I wouldn't go that far, MJ…*  
  
"Come on, Skywalker… I need another drink."  
  
*Do you want to doubt me, farmboy? Or do I have to prove it to you?*  
  
"Another one Jade?"  
  
*Is that a threat?*  
  
"Shut up Skywalker… I'm celebrating."  
  
*No… that's a promise.* Mara a nd Luke finally made it up to the refreshments table where Mara traded her empty glass for a full one. Luke also took a glass, then the two walked off towards a secluded corner.  
  
On the other side of the room, Han was also drinking some of the champagne; one hand holding a glass and the other wrapped around Leia's shoulder. He looked across the room and watched Luke and Mara as they bantered back and forth playfully. As he watched, something dawned on him that he couldn't believe he had never noticed before.  
  
"Well I'll be…" Leia looked up from her conversation with a couple other senators.  
  
"What is it dear?" Han looked around, and seeing that tehre were too many ears listening, he dragged Leia off.  
  
"She'll be right back," Han called to the confused senators. When they got far enough away from everyone else, Han leaned over and whispered in Leia's ear. "Luke and Mara." Leia looked around the room and spotted the couple in the corner; Luke said something and laughed, then Mara punched him in the arm and said something in response to Luke's earlier comment. That's what always happens when they're together. Leia looked back at Han.  
  
"What about them?" Han looked at her, then over towards Luke and Mara, and back again.  
  
"Don't you see it?"  
  
"See what?" Han grabbed Leia's head gently between his hands, squishing her mouth, then turned her head so she was back to staring at the two Jedi.  
  
"That!" Luke and Mara were still bantering.  
  
'Day're dust biting." Han spun Leia around.  
  
"No! They're not just fighting!" Han lowered his voice again. "They're flirting."  
  
"Flirting?" Luke and Mara… no… who was Han trying to kid?  
  
"Don't you see it, Princess? Look at them; the way they act, the way they speak… they're in love."  
  
"Love?" Love?! Was he joking? "Han, how much have you been drinking…"  
  
"Not enough… don't ya see it?" Leia just stared at him. 'Guess not…'  
  
"Senator, can I speak with you?" Leia turned back towards the crowd and smiled, then walked over to her little "group" and began chatting.  
  
"I can't believe she doesn't see it." Han mumbled after Leia had left.  
  
'Maybe the princess doesn't want to.' a voice in the back of his mind chimed in.  
  
'Whaddya mean? Why wouldn't she?'  
  
'Obviously… she's not too fond of Mara Jade.'  
  
'Shut up.' Han ended his internal debate quickly, but his mind idly wandered back to the subject.  
  
'Maybe Leia really doesn't like Mara… but that doesn't make the facts disappear.' Han faced Luke and Mara once more; Mara actually had her arm draped through Luke's. Quickly Mara looked around, then whispered something into Luke's ear. He nodded, then left the party. Ten minutes later, Mara followed his path out of the building.  
  
"I'll be damned…" Han thought for a minute, then a smile played upon his lips. "Nope, not gonna disappear…"  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
  
Far away from the party, the happy beings; far from the bustle of Courscant, someone watched them in silence. On a small screen, Luke appeared, then hid in an alleyway. Ten minutes later Mara appeared, and Luke surprised her. She punched him playfully, then they backed into the alleyway and Mara pushed herself against him and kissed him hard. This went on for a little, then the couple took each other's hands and walked off in the direction of the hotel. The screen went blank.  
  
A hand emerged from the cloaked figure and turned off the holo. This was better than what could have been hoped for.  
  
"So… Skywalker's weakness is none other than our own double-crossing Mara Jade. What an actress." The cloaked figure turned, then called a guard in.  
  
"Yes, master?"  
  
"The plan has changed. Forget about Leia Organa-Solo… our new target is Mara Jade."  
  
"M-m-miss Jade? But I thought…"  
  
"You thought wrong! Now, change the plan in accordance to our new target if you don't want to die."  
  
"Yes, master." The guard left hastily, not wanting to lose his life. The door slammed down behind him.  
  
Leora Palpatine sat back and laughed to herself.  
  
"So, Luke, you're a tough little Jedi, aren't you? But remember one thing; I'm so much stronger than my father ever was. You may have escaped him, but you won't escape me; not this time…"  



End file.
